Kosmos

Culture, travel, fashion and culinary delights: the Kosmos pages of Lufthansa Magazin bring you interesting and useful tidbits from around the world

International beauty spot

South Tyroleans know it well, this picturesque lake 1500 meters up in the mountains of northern Italy. But now the wider world has discovered it, too. Pinterest users have selected Lake Braies, affectionately known as the Pearl of the Dolomites, as one of “101 places to see before you die”.

Frankenstein

Mary Shelley’s novel about a man-made creature was published in 1818 and spawned countless stage and film adaptations. Renowned Gothic scholar Sir Christopher Frayling documents the evolution of this phenomenon in his new book.

Culture clash

Just follow your nose? The sense of smell tends to be undervalued in the West but has a high status in many other cultures:

SMELL THE BABY

The Serer-Ndut people in Senegal believe in reincarnation and that a child’s scent reveals which ancestor has been reborn. The matter is settled if there’s a resemblance.

ACKNOWLEDGE THE NOSE

“How is your nose” is the common greeting used by the Ongee people. Smell is the prime sense for the Andaman islanders in Southeast Asia, and their calendar is dictated by the blossoming periods of certain flowers.

LISTEN TO THE FLOWERS

Smell? Hearing? For the Dogon in Mali these two senses overlap, with language having an odor and flowers a sound. They love the sound/scent of onions, which both sexes rub over their bodies.

Razor sharp

Songs like “Mr. Brightside” and “Human” catapulted The Killers to the higher echelons of independent rock. The band from Las Vegas is touring with its latest – and fifth – album. Catch The Killers on February 27 in Berlin and March 5 in Cologne.